FIFA Club World Cup already offers surprises

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/01/2021 (2028 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The slate of teams is almost complete; the tournament almost ready to go.

Today, at Rio de Janeiro’s famed Maracana stadium, Palmeiras will face Santos in an all-Brazilian, all-Paulista final of the 2020 Copa Libertadores (2 p.m., beIN Sports). The winners will have little time to celebrate.

Early next week they’ll fly to Qatar for the FIFA Club World Cup — the annual (for now) competition, previously held in December, that pits a host side and the six continental champions against one another.

In a way, the event has already surprised.

Neither of the Brazilian outfits were expected to make it to the South American final, let alone the games in Doha. River Plate, the heavy favourites, came up just short in the second leg after a shock 3-0 trouncing by Palmeiras in Avellaneda, and Santos kept Boca Juniors, the other Argentine giants, from the Maracana with a 3-0 triumph at Vila Belmiro.

Less surprising have been the effects of COVID-19. Easily the most hostile playoff in world football, the Copa Libertadores has been played to empty stadiums, and the Maracana will be closed to fans for today’s showpiece.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Oceania will not be represented at all. Its 2020 OFC Champions League was suspended in March and cancelled outright in September, and while Auckland City — the region’s most successful club — was nominated for the Club World Cup, they withdrew in mid-January because of the pandemic.

As a result, Qatari champions Al-Duhail have been awarded a walkover and will face African champions Al Ahly of Egypt on Thursday (12:30 p.m., TSN5). The Red Knights pipped Al-Rayyan to the title in last season’s Qatari Stars League and finished an impressive seven points above Xavi’s star-studded Al-Sadd.

They did it by smothering the opposition and locking down in front of goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Bakri. Ahmed Yasser — incidentally from Egypt — starred at the back and at just 19 established himself as one of Africa’s top young talents. At the Club World Cup he’ll partner with former Bayern Munich and Juventus defender Medhi Benatia.

On the other side of the ball, Al Ahly are in Qatar by virtue of a record ninth African Champions League crown. Their victory over Cairo arch rivals Zamalek in the November final should have been one of the signature moments in African football history, but once again the pandemic ruled out the inclusion of fans in the contest that was only settled by Mohamed “Afsha” Magdy’s winner in the 86th minute.

The Red Castle are presently second in the Egyptian Premier League — two points back of Zamalek, as it happens — and will look to unsettle that Al-Duhail defence through striker Mohamed Sherif and tricky winger Kahraba (Egyptian footballers often choose nicknames).

Awaiting either Al-Duhail or Al Ahly will be automatic semifinalists Bayern Munich, seemingly back to their best after a bit of a December blip. In the other semifinal, one of Palmeiras and Santos will take on either Tigres or Ulsan Hyundai, who will kick off at 9 a.m. Thursday (TSN5).

Remarkably, the match will be Tigres’ first at the Club World Cup. A big, big club out of Monterrey, they came from behind to beat Los Angeles FC in the CONCACAF Champions League final, cult hero Andre-Pierre Gignac scoring the winner with six minutes to play.

Previously a France international and Marseille striker, Gignac led the 2020 Champions League in scoring and was also awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player. He’ll have to produce similar heroics in Qatar, as his side are more stingy defensively than rampant offensively. Colombia winger Luis Quinones will look to help set up the big man in the middle.

Ulsan Hyundai, finally, have already played in Qatar this season, beating Iran’s Persepolis in December’s Asian Champions League final in Al Wakrah. They were decided underdogs going into the match, and even after winning were largely shut out by Persepolis in the awards. That said, being discounted suits them down to the ground.

Junior Negrao, one of Ulsan’s best players and by far the top scorer in the 2020 K League, has been allowed to exit the club as a free agent, leaving Norway’s Bjorn Maars Johnsen to lead the line. But in Yoon Bit-garam the Koreans have one of the more creative midfielders in Asian football and a presence that will menace Tigres if he’s allowed to roam freely and create chances.

Is there a chance that the Europe-South America duopoly could once again be disrupted at this Club World Cup? It’s happening more and more, what with the Copa Libertadores winners being knocked out in two of the last four competitions.

If it’s to happen again it will almost certainly be on that side of the draw, and likely courtesy of Tigres.

But Palmeiras and Santos have already defied expectations in recent weeks, and given their respective pedigrees they’ll still be favoured to progress to the Doha final, where they’ll almost certainly face Bayern.

All that’s left to decide is which of them it will be. After that, the Club World Cup stage will be set.

jerradpeters@gmail.com

Twitter @JerradPeters